IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

RONALD E. and LESLIE A. :

CHAMBERS, as GUARDIANS of : CIVIL ACTION

FERREN CHAMBERS an incapacitated :

person and RONALD E. and LESLIE : 

A. CHAMBERS, in their own right, : 

 :

Plaintiffs, :

v. :

 :

THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF : No. 05-2535

PHILADELPHIA BOARD OF :

EDUCATION, :

Defendant. : 

ORDER

AND NOW, this 18th day of July, 2014, upon consideration of Plaintiffs’ letter request 

for a jury trial dated June 18, 2014 (Docket No. 167), Defendant’s Opposition to Plaintiffs’ letter 

request, and Plaintiffs’ revised reply (Docket No. 167), it is hereby ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ 

request is GRANTED. The case shall be tried to a jury, and shall proceed on the following 

schedule:

Final Pretrial Conference, Preparations and Required Submissions, and Trial Pool

1. All trial exhibits shall be marked and exchanged on or before September 19, 

2014.

2. All parties are to prepare and file with the Clerk of Court their Pretrial 

Memoranda, in accordance with this Order and Local Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1(c) as 

follows:

a. Plaintiffs: on or before September 26, 2014.

b. Defendant: on or before October 3, 2014.

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One (1) copy of each Pretrial Memorandum shall be served on the Court (Chambers), and 

one copy on each opposing counsel, when the original is filed.

3. Any party having an objection to: (a) the admissibility of any exhibit based on

authenticity; (b) the admissibility for any reason (except relevancy) of any evidence expected to 

be offered; or (c) the admissibility of any opinion testimony from lay witnesses pursuant to 

Federal Rule of Evidence 701, shall set forth separately each such objection in their Pretrial 

Memorandum. Each objection shall describe with particularity the ground and the authority for 

the objection.

4. A final pretrial conference will be held with the Honorable Gene E.K. Pratter on

November 4, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., in Chambers.1 Lead trial counsel is required to appear at the 

conference. If trial counsel is on trial in another matter, an attorney in his or her office who is 

thoroughly familiar with this case is required to appear at the conference.

5. The parties shall meet to prepare a complete and comprehensive stipulation of 

uncontested facts pursuant to Local Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 (d)(2)(b)(2). Two (2) copies of 

such stipulation shall be submitted to the Court (Chambers) no later than October 17, 2014. The 

original shall be filed with the Clerk of the Court.

6. No later than October 24, 2014 each party shall submit to the Court (Chambers)—

a. Two (2) copies of (a) proposed jury voir dire questions, (b) proposed jury 

instructions with pinpoint citations of authority for each point (ONE POINT 

PER PAGE), (c) proposed jury interrogatories, (d) motions in limine 

(excepting Daubert motions), and (e) a trial memorandum on the legal issues 

1 Room 10613, United States Courthouse, 601 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106.

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involved in the case. The originals shall be filed with the Clerk of the Court 

and a copy served on each opponent’s counsel.

If a model jury instruction taken, for instance, from the Third Circuit 

Model Instructions, O’Malley, Grenig & Lee, Federal Jury Practice and 

Instructions, or Sand, Modern Federal Jury Instructions is submitted, state 

whether the proposed jury instruction is unchanged or modified. If a party 

modifies a model jury instruction, the modification shall be set forth with 

additions underlined and deletions placed in brackets.

b. A short, written Joint Statement of the Case for reading to the jury at the 

commencement of the trial which shall cover (a) a brief statement of the facts; 

(b) a brief statement of cause(s) of action and the essential elements of each 

cause of action; and, (c) a brief statement of the defense(s) and the essential 

elements of each affirmative defense. The Joint Statement of the Case should 

not exceed two (2) pages in length.

c. Motions in limine (excepting Daubert motions).

d. A trial memorandum on the legal issues involved in the case

The originals shall be filed with the Clerk of the Court and a copy served on each 

opponent’s counsel. Responses to any motions in limine are due no later than October 

31, 2014.

7. A trial date certain is set for this case on November 10, 2014, subject only to the 

Court’s criminal case docket. The case will be tried to a jury.

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Other Trial Preparations

8. If any party desires an offer of proof as to any witness or exhibit, that party shall

informally inquire of opposing counsel or unrepresented party prior to trial for such information.

If the inquiring party is dissatisfied with any offer provided, such party shall file a motion 

seeking relief from the Court prior to trial.

9. Because a witness may be unavailable at the time of trial as defined in Federal 

Rule of Civil Procedure 32(a)(3), the Court expects use of oral or videotape depositions at trial of 

any witness whose testimony a party believes essential to the presentation of that party’s case, 

whether that witness is a party, a non-party or an expert. The unavailability of any such witness 

will not be a ground to delay the commencement or progress of an ongoing trial. In the event a 

deposition is to be offered, the offering party shall file with the Court, prior to the 

commencement of the trial, a copy of the deposition transcript, but only after all efforts have 

been made to resolve objections with other counsel. Unresolved objections shall be noted in the 

margin of the deposition page(s) where a Court ruling is necessary and a covering list of such 

objections is also required.

10. At least three (3) days before the trial date certain, counsel are to supply the Court 

with two (2) copies of each exhibit, and three (3) copies of a schedule of exhibits which briefly 

describes each exhibit.

General Expectations

11. All counsel and unrepresented parties are expected to review the Court’s General 

Policies and Procedures and Guidelines for Trial and Other Proceedings in the Courtroom 

available on the Court’s website at www.paed.uscourts.gov concerning the conduct of the 

litigation, including trial. Any party desiring a hard copy of this document may call the Court’s 

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Civil Deputy, Ms. Rose A. Barber, at 267-299-7350, to request a copy. These Policies and 

Procedures address many issues that frequently arise during the pendency of cases, and all 

counsel and unrepresented parties are expected to follow those procedures in spirit and in fact.

12. All counsel shall take such steps and undertake such procedures and processes so 

as to assure their use of the electronic docketing and document availability and retrieval systems 

operated by the Eastern District of Pennsylvania available from the Court.

13. EXTENSIONS OF TIME: Any necessary application for extension of any time 

deadlines, change in conference(s), or trial date(s) set forth in this Order shall be made in writing 

and submitted to the Court no later than three (3) days prior to the date sought to be changed or 

extended. Any such request shall include a factual verification of counsel or unrepresented party 

or witness showing good cause for the request, shall contain a statement of the position of all 

other parties as to the request, and, if the request relates to a discovery deadline, shall recount 

what discovery the parties have thus far accomplished.

BY THE COURT:

S/Gene E.K. Pratter

GENE E.K. PRATTER

United States District Judge

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